Stowmarket Apostle Accounting wound up after tax refund saga

Apostle Accounting Limited, which was based in Marriotts Walk in Stowmarket, passed a resolution for winding-up on October 10, according to The London Gazette.

DFW Associates of Leeds has been appointed as liquidator.

Apostle, founded by Zoe Goodchild in 2012, came under fire earlier this year after a number of its former clients were ordered by HMRC to pay back the tax rebates they had originally claimed through the firm.

The clients used Apostle to claim money back from HMRC – some to the tune of thousands of pounds, with the firm taking a cut – only for the tax authority to later tell them to pay it back.

Apostle has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing over the issue and said HMRC incorrectly applied its own guidance when authorising the refunds in the first place.

HMRC has declined to comment on individual cases, but said people should be aware of what is being claimed for on their behalf.

Police and other agencies, including the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit, have said they are looking into the issue.

The resolution for winding up comes after the saga between Apostle and its ex-clients featured on BBC One's Rip Off Britain at the start of October.

A resolution for winding up means the company is planning to voluntarily liquidate.

Both Apostle and DFW Associates were approached for a statement on the winding-up, but neither wished to comment.

Lee Osborne is a former Apostle client and has been collating data from other people who used its services for tax refunds.

He expressed his disappointment at discovering Apostle was being wound up.

Lee Osborne, a former Apostle client (Image: Lee Osborne)

Mr Osborne said: "The affected people are fed up, have been through the ringer and are now completely broken, all because they trusted a company to handle their financial affairs.

"These people will never trust any accountant ever again."